1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a bow for stringed musical instrument and particularly concerns an improvement to the stick of this bow, enabling adjustment of the stiffness thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A classical bow is composed of a curved stick with a widened hatched-shaped head and equipped at the other end with an adjustable frog. A horsehair ribbon is stretched between the head and the frog using a screw and nut system. Conventionally, the stick is cut from a fairly rare hard and resistant brazilwood, Pernambuco. More recently, it was proposed to make this stick of a synthetic material, usually composite such as a carbon-fibre based or similar material.
The qualities of a bow depend essentially on the characteristics of the stick, such as its curve and its greater or lesser rigidity. In fact, one same bow may be considered satisfactory by one instrumental performer yet disliked by another. Indeed, the best instrumentalists consider it necessary to change the bow to suit the musical work being performed, or merely their sensitivity of the moment. This therefore causes them to possess several bows. Yet, good bows are expensive.
Also, bows in a synthetic material, if reproducible on an industrial scale, are too similar in characteristics from one model to another to satisfy all instrumentalists. Indeed, one cannot conceive of an ideal bow to suit all instrumentalists, precisely because of the varied, and sometimes even contradictory, demands of these latter. Such variety, which can be obtained by a skilled craftsman making each bow individually, raises difficulties for manufacture on an industrial scale.